Colombian Visa TP7 Process, Step 4

Colombian Visa TP7 Process, Step 4

Langon guided me through every step, they made it very easy. Again, everything I accomplished everything except the very last step via email.

A) First, I emailed them their filled out questionnaire, scanned copies of some of my passport pages (info page, recent entry/exit stamps, any prior visas, etc), plus a JPG format full face passport style photo. They will tell you the detailed requirements for the photo – size, background, color, no smile, etc.

A note about the photo…

Yes, it is important that you are not smiling in your photo. You must have a photo with your lips together and a neutral expression. Can’t look too happy, eh?! My first photo I sent (a copy of the one in my USA passport) was not acceptable, so I had to redo it.

The good news is that you don’t have to search out a passport-style photo place. You can simply have a friend take a photo of you or even do it yourself. That’s what I did… so my Colombian Visa photo is a selfie! I loaded it onto my computer and used photo editing software to zoom in and crop to the required dimensions.

B) Next I printed out the Power of Attorney (POA) letter I was sent. I took the letter plus my passport to a local notary (notaría) service to have my signature notarized. These are easy to find (even tiny Salento has one), quick and cheap. It cost me just over $1 USD. I scanned the completed POA and emailed it to Langon.

C) Once my proof of income letter arrived from the USA Embassy in Bogota, I scanned it as well and emailed it to Langon.

D) Now Langon had all the documentation they required. They electronically submitted my application to the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately. Amazingly, I received an email that my visa application had been approved the very same day! How wonderfully fast – at this point I’d been in the country only a week.

E) Of course the process has to get physical at some point, so now was the time to ship my passport off to get the official visa glued into it. I went to a local courier service (Servientrega can be found everywhere) and sent my passport and the original POA letter to a partner service located in Bogota. This company received it, got the Visa put into my passport, and then shipped my passport back to me all the same day.

I greatly appreciated the fact that I didn’t have to send my passport somewhere and have it be who-knows-where in some pile for weeks on end, not knowing when it would return. In my case, my passport was out of my possession for 6 days. But that included a 3-day holiday weekend so nothing moved and all offices were closed. Theoretically it could be even faster.

One more important thing to do

Once your visa is in your passport you are not done. You must now register your visa and request your cédula. Do not delay, you must do this promptly — within 15 calendar days of the visa start date stamped in your passport. Do not fail to do this as there are hefty penalties!